Spring starter for outboard motor

ABSTRACT

A ratchet-type stored-energy spring starting system for outboard motors, including in various embodiments adjustable-height adapter posts and gear, provisions for preventing the crankhandle from fouling lines or inadvertently being rotated, and provision for extra-long cranking handles as needed for starting very large outboard motors.

United States Patent Smolinski 51 3,658,45 51 Apr. 25, 1972 [54] SPRING STARTER FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR [72] Inventor: William H. Smolinski, 530 S. Kenwood Ave., Baltimore, Md. 21224 [22] Filed: May 20, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 39,083

[52] U.S.Cl. ..l23/179S, 123/185 S,71/1 [51] Int. Cl... ..F02n l/02, F02n 1/00 [58] FieldofSearch ..123/179 S, 179 SE, 179 R, 185 P,

123/185 S, 185 R, 195 P, 41.7,195 C, 198 E;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,997,997 8/1961 Glenn ..123/l79 S 2,869,682 1/1959 De Millar ..123/l79 S 2,950,780 8/1960 De Millarm, ..123/179 S 2,410,142 10/1946 Altmanm. ..123/198 E 2,999,490 9/1961 Hamman ....123/179 S 3,081,760 3/1963 Hamman ....123/179 S 3,081,759 3/1963 Mauck et a1. ..123/179 5 Primary Examiner-A1 Lawrence Smith Attorney-John F. McClellan, Sr.

[57] ABSTRACT A ratchet-type stored-energy spring starting system for outboard motors, including in various embodiments adjustableheight adapter posts and gear, provisions for preventing the crankhandle from fouling lines or inadvertently being rotated, and provision for extra-long cranking handles as needed for starting very large outboard motors.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SPRING STARTER FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR This invention relates generally to outboard motors for boat propulsion, and specifically to starters for outboard motors.

In the past, starters supplied with outboard motors have been of one of three types, the electric motor, the pull cord, and the direct crank.

Each of these three types has its advantages and disadvantages. Of the three types, the electric starter is the most complex, the most expensive, the heaviest, and the most hazardous (because of possibility of battery acid spillage, high current arcing when shorted, and gasoline fume ignition when shorted). Operating procedure for outboard motor electric starters is not familiar to most people, and special safetyinstructions are essential, particularly in salt-water and roughwater usage. Additionally, a back-up (manual) starting system is necessary to insure against being caught off-shore with a dead battery. On the other hand, the electric starter has many desirable qualities. lt supplies a high instantaneous torque for motor starting. Proper sizes will start the largest outboard motors without tipping the'motor or over-exerting the operator, or causing him to wrench his back or fall overboard.

As compared with the electric starter, the pull-cord starter is relatively simple, cheap, and lightweight, and many people know the general principle of operation. However, the pull cord starter is deceptively hazardous to use, safe operation depending on many variables beyond the starter mechanism itself. First, the user must develop a high instantaneous effort pulling on the starter cord, regardless of whether he must stand to do so, and regardless of the pitching of the boat, the state of repair of the starter cord, the pivotal characteristics of the engine, the desired direction of motion when the engine starts, or the number of pulls required to start the engine. Much injury and death hasresultedwhen operators have fallen backward over boat seats, or overboard, or have wrenched parts of their bodies or overexerted themselves trying to pull harder. Pull cords cannot rovide good mechanical advantage without requiring excessively long pulls, and are thus more dangerous to use with large motors. Pivoting or tipping of a motor, particularly a small motor, under pull of the cord, is hard to prevent, andstraight-ahead starting of clutchless motors is the most prudent course, even though there may be obstacles straight ahead.

Direct-crank motors such as those on the early outboards were the simplest, cheapest, and most reliable mechanically, and at the same time the least efficient and most dangerous of all types. The handle was affixed directly to the top of the crankshaft. The operator was required to lean over the stern swinging the handle rapidly and forcefully in a horizontal circle until the motor fired. It was not easy for everyone to spin the handle under such conditions, and backfires caused injuries by throwing the crank backwards. Operators, while leaning over the stern sometimes slipped and fell overboard.

A general object ofthe present invention therefore is to provide a starting system for outboard motors which combines the advantages and eliminates the disadvantages of the priorart systems to the greatest possible extent.

Further objects are to provide a system as described which is at the same time manually operated, cheap to build, easy, safe, and simple tooperate, adapted for starting standard outboard motors of any size, and extremely reliable.

I provide these and other objects of my invention in a typical embodiment comprising a crank-spring-starter similar to the type now known for use with lawn mowers and the like, but modified for use with outboard motors by extension of the cranking pedestal or housing, modifications ofthe crank arm, alteration of the motor housing, provision of a special adapter in the form of a vertically extended cup-type pawl gear, and other modifications as will be seen.

These and other objects and advantages ofmy invention will become more readily apparent on examination of the following desc'ription and the drawings in which:

FIG. I is a plan view of an outboard motor showing the top ofmy starter invention as installed on top of the motor;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the FIG. 1 motor with the starter installed;

FIG. 3 is an elevation detail in partial section of the motor shown in the previous figures, with the starter in place.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a crank assembly.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a large motor with a weather cover over the starter.

Now taking up the figures in detail, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate in plan view and in elevation respectively a portion of my outboard motor starting system 10 protruding through the top of a specially adapted cowling 12 of an outboard motor M. The protrusive portion of the housing is rounded to avoid any possibility of snagging fishing lines and the like on the internal parts. For the same reason, the crank handle employed is of the folding or hinged type used on lawn-mowers, which allows the handle protrusion to be turned downward in the stored position to contact with the cowling. To insure further that lines will not catch on the handle, the free end 18 is preferable disposed in a recess 20 in the rear of the cowling; this provision also minimizes the chance of accidental cranking by limiting the are through which the handle can be moved without unfolding the handle.

When the handle is unfolded from the stored position shown, it swings over into the boat, ready for use from a safe operator position. Full 360 cranking is unnecessary, and especially in rough water, or with large motors, is unsafe.

As will be seen later, the handle shown is connected with a large coil spring in the housing 14, which in turn is connected through a releasable pawl-drive with the motor crankshaft, and the entire arrangement is ratchet-constrained during winding. With the handle in the boat, the operator, according to my invention, needs only to move it in easy strokes from right to left through a few degrees are, and'to repeat this until the spring is wound sufficiently to start the motor. For very large motors, longer handles are supplied, making it easy and safe to start the motor manually, regardless of size, because of the great mechanical advantage enjoyed by the operator.

Where the torque of winding is great, the motor will rotate to the side on the mounting until it comes to rest against a stop, but unlike the sudden pivoting of a motor caused by pulling on a cord-type starter, this yielding to one side is slow and not at all dangerous, because the operator is not off balance as in the case of heavy exertion. As indicated by FIG. 3, handles 316 of great length can be employed with very large outboards, and yet can be stored safely away according to a further provision of my invention. A detachable clevis pin 322 is used, permitting removal of the handle when not in use.lf desired, a cotter pin 324 or other means is used to secure the pin in place during cranking.

FIG. 3 also shows further details of construction, partially in section.

Outboard motor crankcases C are commonly supplied with tapped holes T to support pull-cord recoil mechanisms, Using these same tapped holes, I mount housing 14 on adjustable length posts 26, 26a, fastened together and to the crankcase tapped holes T. Machine screws 28 may be used to fasten the posts and housing 14 together. Lateral spacing of the posts stabilizes the housing.

The adjustment feature of the posts allows a more-or-less standard housing 14 to be used with any of several motor sizes, provided that there is equivalent vertical extension of the coupling with the crankshaft of the motor. In all cases, I provide clearance between cowling 12 and housing 14 by using a vertically extended bell-shaped internal pawl-gear 30 (shown in section) affixed to the crankshaft.

This gear is retained by a self-centering nut N screwed on the threaded end of the crankshaft S. The gear may be notched as at 32 to receive a lug or lugs L which are often provided on the flywheel F of a motor, and which can be used as dog-drives for coupling.

In the pawl gear 30 I provide internal gearing 34 which the output pawl 35, protruding from the lower rotative part 36 of the housing 14, engages to spin the crankshaft when the starter system is fully cranked and the restaining mechanism, indicated later, is released, as by pressure on a trigger 38 by the handle 316.

Although this invention is not confined to any one form of spring-andlratchet mechanism, FIG. 4 is included to show diagrammatically how such mechanisms typically operate.

FIG. 4 is a section in elevation of the housing 14, lower housing 36 and pawl gear 34, shown in FIG. 3. Housing 14 mounts the hand crank assembly, including handle 16, pin 22 and upper rotor 46, rotatively in sleeve bearing 48. The rotating portion 48a of the sleeve bearing is integral with upper rotor 46, as is the ratchet gear 50 below the bearing and the central spring winder post 52 to which the upper end 54 of spring 56 is affixed. The lower end 58 of spring 56 passes through aslot 60 in the wall of cylindrical lower rotor 36, and terminates in a retractive drive pawl 64 which engages pawl gear 30 through the internal gear teeth 34.

Upper ratchet 66 extends through the wall of housing 14 and engages the teeth of ratchet gear 50, preventing clockwise travel of the handle without corresponding winding of the spring, but permitting overrun slippage in the opposite direction.

Lower ratchet 68 extends through the wall of housing 14 and prevents the lower end of the spring from moving in a clockwise direction as long as the ratchet is engaged with ratchet gear 70, which is integral with lower rotor 36.

The ratchet 68 is disengaged by downward pressure of handle actuated release 74 on lower rotor 36, which lowers the teeth of gear 70 below ratchet 68 by compressing spring 76 which it captures between the housing and the lower rotor. When spring 56 is wound, this allows the pawl 60 to spin pawl gear 30, which is attached to the crankshaft and starts the motor.

When spring 56 is wound it protrudes through slot 60, and when spring 56 is slack it automatically retreats partially into the slot, allowing the gear 30 to over-run.

FIG. shows a large motor M equipped with a weather cover or guard 80 over the cranking mechanism which is indicated by housing 14. At present, large motors are normally equipped with electric starters and when converted will not require daily use of my invention, except when the batteries fail. When it is necessary to remove cover 80, captive screws- 82 are loosened and the cover is slid to one side until slots 88 on the opposite side clear the screws sufficiently for a flange 86 to be raised and the cover removed. The crown 84 of the cover is made large enough to clear housing 14 during the sliding and removal.

It can be seen that though the special provisions described in the foregoing specification my novel cranking system can be installed on almost any outboard motor of conventional configuration, with very little adaptation; that it will start all motors efficiently and safely, and that the cost is very small compared with stored-energy starting systems which depend on batteries. 7

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically desribed.

Iclaim:

1. A stored-energy manual starting system for vertical crankshaft outboard motors having attachment means beneath the cowling on the crankcase, comprising: plural vertically adjustable posts for attachment to the crankcase, verticallyelongated pawl-gear means for attachment to the upper end of a said crankshaft in laterally spaced relation to said posts, housing means supported in partial protrusion through a said cowling by said posts, the housing means having ratchet restained spring means therein, crank-handle means operatively attached to one end of the spring means, the crank-handle means having a folding portion adapted to protrude downwardly in the folded position for contacting the cowling; said cowling being specially adapted by having an opening therein for receiving said crank-handle means folding portion downward protrusion when folded for storage, said crank-handle folding portion when in position for cranking being free of said cowling opening; pawl means operatively connecting the other end of the spring means to the pawl gear means, and ratchet-restraint release means at one said end of the spring means.

2. A starting system for outboard motors as recited in claim 1, wherein said specially adapted cowling has a recess therein for receiving a portion of said handle downward protrusion.

3. A starting system'for outboard motors as recited in claim 2 wherein the vertically elongated pawl-gear means has a slot in a periphery thereof for operative engagement with a said crankshaft. 

1. A stored-energy manual starting system for vertical crankshaft outboard motors having attachment means beneath the cowling on the crankcase, comprising: plural vertically adjustable posts for attachment to the crankcase, vertically elongated pawl-gear means for attachment to the upper end of a said crankshaft in laterally spaced relation to said posts, housing means supported in partial protrusion through a said cowling by said posts, the housing means having ratchet restained spring means therein, crank-handle means operatively attached to one end of the spring means, the crank-handle means having a folding portion adapted to protrude downwardly in the folded position for contacting the cowling; said cowling being specially adapted by having an opening therein for receiving said crankhandle means folding portion downward protrusion when folded for storage, said crank-handle folding portion when in position for cranking being free of said cowling opening; pawl means operatively connecting the other end of the spring means to the pawl gear means, and ratchet-restraint release means at one said end of the spring means.
 2. A starting system for outboard motors as recited in claim 1, wherein said specially adapted cowling has a recess therein for receiving a portion of said handle downward protrusion.
 3. A starting system for outboard motors as recited in claim 2 wherein the vertically elongated pawl-gear means has a slot in a periphery thereof for operative engagement with a said crankshaft. 